Travel: Shawnee National Forest
EDIT: Due to the pandemic, Amanda is now no longer offering the cottage at Mandolin Grove as lodging. However, she has several glamping sites on the property. Choose from Woodland or Garden.
We just celebrated our second anniversary and maybe it’s the quarantine talking, but we’ve been reminiscing about our first anniversary for weeks. We explored Shawnee National Forest, a treasure trove of ecosystems created when an ancient ice sheet covering up to 85% of Illinois melted. Having never visited the area before, despite it being less than two hours away, I was first angry with myself for waiting so long and then struck by how much our excursions mirrored the landscape of our Ireland honeymoon adventures. Fog that didn’t lift until the afternoon, small town backroads that simultaneously kissed countryside and mountains, cliffs that made us feel small just by existing, all of the moss.
The forest spans 289,000 acres and we wanted equal parts adventure and leisure (adveisure? leisenture?) during our stay, so we had to be a bit choosy.
The easy peasy 1/4-mile Observation Trail at Garden of the Gods leads to Camel Rock, one of the more popular attractions. The area was covered by a shallow sea 320 million years ago which eventually retreated, leaving breathtaking sandstone formations behind. We went the same day as a middle school field trip, so the rocks were crawling with noisy tweens. Go at sunrise or sunset.
I’ve wanted to experience Heron Pond ever since insta-stalking Nate’s Shawnee trip. The floating boardwalk provides total immersion in the bald cypress/water tupelo swamp which serves as a haven for more than 100 endangered wildlife species. I’ve always loved cypress trees. Their roots grow cones that reemerge above water and form a broad base of “knees” to support their height. They just hunker down and flourish. We were the only ones on the boardwalk and it was such a blessing to just be still. This is a must-see.
Little Grand Canyon Trail is just under 3 miles and the climb can be challenging, but the panoramic views pay off. Blocks of ice sliding off from the glacier formed the cliffs and a small creek carved the 200-foot canyon which leads to the Big Muddy. Eric was a little hangry after the cliff portion of the hike (and upon reading this, thanked me for downplaying how “mad heated” he got), so we didn’t descend into the canyon itself. For those of you who think ahead and bring snacks, please continue your journey to the natural stone staircase and report back.
Pomona Natural Bridge is about 30 feet tall at its highest point and a little over 8 feet wide at its widest point, again carved out over the years. It’s a quick walk from the parking lot and an easy attraction to add to any day.
Each night, we retreated to an oasis of an Airbnb located along the wine trail (which we sort of skipped to prioritize sightseeing). The fully-equipped kitchen in the studio-style cottage made it easy to stay in for most meals and I enjoyed several soaks in the clawfoot tub with the breeze blowing through the secluded screen door. We spent our mornings double-fisting Irish coffees and mimosas while waiting for the rain to roll in (with an occasional solo trip to check out all of the cute antique shops in Cobden) and our nights watching the sunset around the fire pit. Superhost Amanda has since added a hot tub, so all the more reason to return.
When we weren’t cooking, we hit up a few places in town or nearby. Taqueria Pequena ("Little House of Tacos") has some of the best tamales I’ve ever had and they were super cheap so we grabbed a dozen at a time to take back to the cottage (too bad we didn’t have any at Little Grand Canyon amirite). We also loved brunch at Iron Whisk and 17th Street BBQ in Murphysboro. You also can’t go wrong with any roadside burger joint.